1st Edition
The Meaning and Purpose of Work An Interdisciplinary Framework for Considering What Work is For
Two seminal crises of the early 21st century – the 9/11 terrorist attacks and COVID-19 pandemic – have led emerging generations of workers to prioritize the meaning and purpose of work. At the same time, other social and environmental crises are threatening, capitalism is evolving, and technology is advancing. In this book, a philosopher and organizational psychologist who together research meaningful work consider what these forces mean for whether work might give meaning and purpose to our lives or take it away. The authors introduce key concepts – meaning, purpose, and work, among others – and consider how they show up in individuals’ experience of work, what role organizations play in cultivating them, and the responsibilities of markets and states to the individuals and organizations working within them. Each chapter includes questions and prompts for review and reflection for students and workers who read the book. The final chapter concludes by introducing an original “6 P” framework for making sense of the functional and moral purpose of work among individuals, organizations, and systems: to pursue and perform, provide and produce, and price and protect work. Readers emerge with an understanding of the meaning of meaning as well as a practical appreciation for the role of meaning in their own work, the managerial responsibilities they may have for serving the purpose of the organization they work for, and the societal challenges that make the quest for meaningful work a timely imperative.
Chapter 1: Does Work Give Life Meaning and Purpose or Does it Taketh Away? Chapter 2: A Brief Overview of Meaning, Purpose, and Work Chapter 3: Meaningful Work for IndividualsJobs, Careers, and Callings Chapter 4: A Framework of Frameworks of What Work is For Chapter 5: Meaning and Purpose in Organizations: Opportunities and Challenges Chapter 6: Meaningful Work and Society: What Work Will We Protect? Chapter 7: The Future of Meaningful Work: A Framework for a Purpose-Driven Era
Biography
Christopher Wong Michaelson is a philosopher with 25 years of experience advising business leaders pursuing meaning and providing work with a purpose. He is the Opus Distinguished Professor and Academic Director of the Melrose and The Toro Company Center for Principled Leadership at the University of St. Thomas and on the Business and Society faculty at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Christopher lives in Minneapolis with his wife, three kids, and two dogs.
Jennifer Tosti-Kharas is the Camilla Latino Spinelli Endowed Term Chair and Professor of Management at Babson College. She teaches, researches, and coaches others about what it means to craft a meaningful career, and appreciate the risks and rewards of work as a calling. Jen lives outside Boston with her husband and two kids.
This is an important book that everyone should read. Written by two of the world’s leading thinkers on meaningful work, The Meaning and Purpose of Work is full of real-world examples and personal experiences that bring profound insights from multiple disciplines to life. I came away moved, challenged and inspired to reconsider what makes work meaningful in contemporary society.
—Katie Bailey, Professor of Work and Employment, King’s Business School
Finally! A book about work and meaning and purpose that is worth reading. It speaks to the questions that we all have in our hearts. And it gives us a framework for hope. Yes we can create better businesses and a better future for our children.
—R. Edward Freeman, University Professor, The Darden School of the University of Virginia
This book delves into the heart of our contemporary work crisis, exploring how pivotal events and societal shifts have urgently redefined our search for purpose in the workplace. The groundbreaking '6 P' framework, outlined by Michaelson and Tosti-Kharas, offers a visionary approach to harmonizing individuals' needs for meaningful work with society's greater good.
—Aruna Ranganathan, Dong Koo Kim Chancellor’s Chair in Social Entrepreneurship, University of California-Berkeley
"The current age of pandemics and disruption threatens our very sense of meaning. In this panoramic look at how work is both restructured and misunderstood in a post-pandemic world, Professors Michaelson and Tosti-Kharas shine a fresh light on the promise of work. Using a colorful array of examples and academic research findings, they offer a striking new framework for connecting task to meaning, and work to purpose."
—Thomas Donaldson, Mark O. Winkelman Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“The Meaning and Purpose of Work shines a lively and insightful beacon on the post-pandemic working world. Full of memorable stories and cutting-edge research, this book is an essential practical guide for those seeking meaningful careers.”
- Jeff Thompson, Professor and Director of the Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, Brigham Young University
This book puts the question of "what does my work mean?" and "why is it worth doing?" squarely on our agenda. The time has never been more right for these considerations as we come out of a pandemic life "hold" with a definite interest in how we spend the third of our lives that we spend at work. And who better to take us through this examination than a PhD in philosophy and an Organizational Psychologist, both of whom have had consulting and business experience! This book will be an extremely satisfying read for anyone who wonders, “what’s it all about?” It brilliantly interweaves stories of people searching for, finding, and not finding meaning with what we know from the science of work meaning. I felt immediately drawn by the stories they told and then "well fed" by the interesting science they brought to bear on these important questions.
-- Susan Ashford, author of The Power of Flexing and Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan
In this remarkable volume Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas offer a deeply insightful exploration that echoes amidst the complexities of our modern world. Far more than a scholarly discourse, this book serves as a compelling call to action for those seeking to imbue their work with purpose and significance. A must-read for anyone striving to find purpose and make a meaningful difference in the world and harness the transformative potential of work.
-- Yohuru Williams, coauthor of More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative, University of St. Thomas
